植被中必需和非必需元素的生物利用度预计会影响自由放养的陆生草食动物的性能。然而,目前缺乏将动物种群对地球化学景观的使用直接与生殖产出联系起来的尝试。在这里,我们测量了Zackenberg山谷收集的土壤和植被样本中14种必需和非必需元素的浓度,格陵兰东北部,并将这些与环境条件联系起来,以空间预测和绘制地球化学景观。然后,我们使用了麝香酚(Ovibosmoschatus)的长期(1996-2021年)调查数据,以量化植被中基本要素和非必要元素的相对使用的年度变化以及它们与次年幼牛招募的关系。结果表明,麝香对地球化学景观的相对使用在年份之间变化很大,并且在元素之间有所不同。选择具有较高水平的基本要素N的植被地点,Cu,Se,莫与每年的小牛招募呈正相关。相比之下,选择非必需元素As和Pb浓度较高的植被地点与每年的小牛招募呈负相关。根据我们研究中测量的浓度,我们发现每年的小牛招募和C水平之间没有明显的联系,Mn,Co,Zn,Cd,Ba,Hg,和植被中的C:N比。我们得出的结论是,空间分布和对必需和非必要元素的获取是麝牛生殖输出的重要驱动因素,这也可能适用于其他野生动物种群。在未来的环境变化下,地球化学景观评估栖息地与绩效关系的价值可能会增加。
The bioavailability of essential and non-essential elements in vegetation is expected to influence the performance of free-ranging terrestrial herbivores. However, attempts to relate the use of geochemical landscapes by animal populations directly to reproductive output are currently lacking. Here we measured concentrations of 14 essential and non-essential elements in soil and vegetation samples collected in the Zackenberg valley, northeast Greenland, and linked these to environmental conditions to spatially predict and map geochemical landscapes. We then used long-term (1996-2021) survey data of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) to quantify annual variation in the relative use of essential and non-essential elements in vegetated sites and their relationship to calf recruitment the following year. Results showed that the relative use of the geochemical landscape by muskoxen varied substantially between years and differed among elements. Selection for vegetated sites with higher levels of the essential elements N, Cu, Se, and Mo was positively linked to annual calf recruitment. In contrast, selection for vegetated sites with higher concentrations of the non-essential elements As and Pb was negatively correlated to annual calf recruitment. Based on the concentrations measured in our study, we found no apparent associations between annual calf recruitment and levels of C, Mn, Co, Zn, Cd, Ba, Hg, and C:N ratio in the vegetation. We conclude that the spatial distribution and access to essential and non-essential elements are important drivers of reproductive output in muskoxen, which may also apply to other wildlife populations. The value of geochemical landscapes to assess habitat-performance relationships is likely to increase under future environmental change.